“Healthcare facilities are where the vulnerable seek healing. However, without adequate water, sanitation and hygiene, for too many people, expected care can turn into unintended harm,” said Dr Hans Kluge, Regional Director for Europe at the World Health Organization (WHO).
Emphasizing that healthcare “is being tested like never before,” Dr. Kluge insisted that strengthening it is an investment to withstand crises.
As part of this work, a UN-led meeting in Budapest this week resulted in more than 40 countries adopting a program to build more resilient and equitable water, sanitation and hygiene systems, often collectively referred to as WASH.
The seventh session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol on Water and Health is co-led by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the United Nations health agency.
The Protocol on Water and Health remains the only legally binding international treaty explicitly linking environmental protection, water governance and public health. It has helped countries translate commitments into concrete improvements, such as expanding clean water, protecting biodiversity and boosting disease surveillance.
However, significant challenges remain. In addition to the 118 million people in Europe whose healthcare facilities lack basic sanitation services, another 70 million lack access to safely managed drinking water and 185 million do not have safe sanitation services. These vulnerabilities are only deepening as droughts, floods and cyber threats increasingly disrupt services.
“The Protocol is an example of how multilateral cooperation impacts our daily lives, but we still have a lot of work ahead of us,” said UNECE Executive Secretary Tatiana Molcean.
Practical tools, global relevance
The Protocol provides a toolbox of evidence-based resources, such as an equitable access scoring system and water security planning, which is already used in more than 30 countries. The international agreement has supported at least 1,500 facility assessments and helped inform policies in schools, hospitals and urban planning.
Countries across the pan-European region have committed to ensuring safe drinking water and sanitation for all, through commitments such as the Budapest Declaration and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), “but no one tells you how to do it. That is what the Protocol has to offer.” highlighted Marta Vargha, vice president of the Protocol.
Concrete measures provided for in the Protocol include efforts to ensure safe water, sanitation and menstrual hygiene in schools; monitor wastewater for dangerous viruses, including COVID-19; address the spread of Legionella bacteria in domestic water systems and develop plans for carbon-neutral water services.
Ahead of the UN climate summit in Brazil, ECE urged governments to put water and sanitation systems at the center of climate resilience, a message highlighted by Secretary-General António Guterres in a message to the meeting: “Progress on water and sanitation supports progress on multiple Sustainable Development Goals.”
